Peter Yarrow leads Tim DeChristopher Crowd in song

On July 26, 2011, Peter Yarrow, a member of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, spoke and led supporters of Timothy DeChristopher in song while they waited for news of DeChristopher’s sentencing. Yarrow believes that we are facing a time when we need to make the right decisions to save the planet for our children, and that Timothy is an important part of the climate change movement.

“Tim is a critical point of ignition for being someone who can inspire as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks,” said Yarrow.

He said that we needed to be concerned for our children’s future and not the interests of corporations, which are just machines that make money and are only interested in today’s profit margin.

“We are at that critical threshold” when we can choose whether our children inherit a planet with clean air or an environment that has been despoiled.

Yarrow talked about a time when he was called to help a group of protestors in the 1960s. He couldn’t make it to that rally, but he had a friend who was directing “Hair.” The cast of “Hair” came out and led the protestors in song. The group was able to continue its protest because they were able to sing.​“When we sing together, we become strong,” said Yarrow.

Yarrow recommended that everyone read the letter that Dr. King wrote while he was in the Birmingham jail.

“Life is not about acquiring things,” said Yarrow. “It is about loving you; loving my children. That is the reason I am here.”​Yarrow led the group in a couple of songs before he left, including “The Times They Are a-Changin’.”